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Former KU target Josh Green picks Arizona

To almost no one’s surprised, five-star Class of 2019 guard Josh Green on Thursday orally committed to the University of Arizona via one of those social media videos that have become oh so popular.

Green, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard from IMG Academy and the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2019 class per Rivals.com, chose Arizona over a final six that included North Carolina, Kansas, USC, Villanova and UNLV.

In reality, though, this was a decision that came down to Arizona and North Carolina, as Kansas had been unofficially eliminated several weeks ago.

With his size, length and serious athletic ability, Green would have been a nice addition for any roster. But the Jayhawks already have added two guards in the 2019 class — 6-f5 Christian Braun and 6-1 Issac McBride — and still are in serious pursuit of four-star freak Cassius Stanley, the No. 31-ranked player on Rivals’ board.

Long ago, there was some talk about Green exploring a reclassification and moving into the 2018 class — at least considering it has become the in thing these days — but it never came to fruition. Had he, that might have put him higher on KU’s priority list given the fact that the Jayhawks are currently operating with one open scholarship in the wake of Sam Cunliffe’s decision to transfer.

It’s a moot point now. And just because they had space does not mean Green would’ve have become a Jayhawk. He’s a Wildcat now and the Jayhawks will continue their pursuit of Stanley as the premiere shooting guard they want in the 2019 class.